Copacabana, crossing my first border and the "floating" island tour

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Arriving back in La Paz after the Pampas tour and I was quick to catch up with friends and plan to leave that same day for Copacabana, no more getting stuck in La Paz for me. So after welcome shower at the hostel I left my bag with, breakfast and catching up with the world after 4days of no Facebook. The five of us squished into a minibus full of locals along with our backpacks to the bus station. A mere 3 hour bus ride to the gorgeous city of Copacabana and travelling with 4 boys of course the priority was food, so we dumped our bags and went straight to the market. We finally found someone serving food and having heard so much about the trout, it was easy ordering. There was a good reason we had heard so much about it, the trout was the best I've ever tasted and alongside the usual potatoes and rice (it will certainly be a shock returning to just one carb per meal at home). Next task; find a boat trip to the island, Isla de Sol, for the next day, easy. Next, climb the nearby hill to watch the sunset, not so easy. Being at such high altitude, we're all out of breath in a matter of minutes but we persevered and the view was definitely worth it! Stunning views of the city as well as the sun setting over the lake, and Gil bought his stove so we even had a cup of tea to ward off the cold. Great way to end the night and to start the five of us travelling together.
The next morning and a chilly boat ride to start, the trip lasted about an hour and a half. We got off the boat on South of the island and the plan was to walk to the North where we would spend the night, and combination of altitude, hills and the sun meant the walk took longer than expected but with beautiful views of the lake and island to make up for it. We found a hostel right on the beach, though the water was too cold to swim, the best window view you'll ever get for less than 2 pounds a night. Small town meant another quiet night at the hostel after dinner, and early to bed. A lie in the next morning and a day spent mostly travelling, the boat ride back with a brief stop in Copacabana to eat some more trout and then finally leaving on the delayed bus for Puno, Peru. My first border crossing and it sure didn't fail to be entertaining. Ryan, the Malaysian representative for the group had overstayed his visa by 3 days, so had to pay a fine of 60Bs. The problem being I was the only one of us left with any money and I only had 30 so after several attempts to persuade the immigration officer to accept pounds, buy photographs of us, just please please let it go, we resorted to begging other passengers who had already walked the 300 metres across the border. Gil being the hero walked across the border and came back with the extra 30Bs required, we finally got the stamp Ryan needed and we were out of there. Arriving in Puno without a cent between us, confusion at the bus station about taxi prices, finding an ATM and finally getting to a decent hostel. Everyone getting over excited about the quality of the wifi at the hostel and the prospect of hot showers. Floating island tour booked for the following day and dinner sorted it was a night spent with everyone glued to their screens. Another early morning!! And more South American timing, meant we were late being picked up for the tour but made it to the boat and set off. This boat being much warmer and comfier meant only one thing, nap time. Only waking up when we arrived at an actual floating island, I wasn't quite sure what to expect but we were shown how they were built of blocks of a cork like mixture of mud and reeds with reeds then piled on top and replaced every week. Bizarre but pretty cool with just 6 families living on the island, we were shown about the hunting and fishing that they do. We even got to try the reeds that they eat. Next stop the island we were to be spending the night, not a floating island, with a host family. We met our host Lydia and her two adorable little boys and finally had our first real meal of the day potatoes and fried cheese, hoping the food wasn't going to continue like that we forced it down, trying to be appreciative. Later that day we headed further up the island, to join the other groups and play (watch others play) football, afterwards another climb to watch the sunset. Less than impressive due to clouds but great views of the rest of the island, and we all made our wishes to the inca god, and placed 4 stones on the wall for luck with love, health, knowledge and work. Back at home for a dinner of rice and mixed beans, and then getting dressed up in traditional outfits to head to a party of tourists all dressed as ridiculously as us. A couple of hours of attempting the traditional dancing and we were all ready for bed, not without significant difficulty getting out of all my skirts. This morning (yep I'm finally up to date with this) we had the best meal so far of deep fried almost pancake type things, and left early for the boat. Onto the next island (again not a floating island) note we've been to 3 islands and the 1 floating island we visited we spent a total of 45minutes, feeling a bit misled by the tour company but anyway we walked up to the main plaza, where we milled around for a bit in the sunshine and looked in some shops, and onward to the restaurant for lunch. More trout which went down well and then the walk back down to the boat and the 3 hour trip back to Puno, where I finished my book and everyone slept again. Back in Puno and its bitterly cold, booked my bus ticket for Arequipa for later tonight, and here's hoping its going to be a bit frigging warmer there.

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